The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

Tho above illustration , taken from a Photograph , shows the New Hall and the Preparatory School ,

IT may be interesting to readers of this Supplement if we give , in concise , summarised , form , a sketch of the origin and progress of the Boys' Institution , with a view of showing the great results which spring from " small

beginnings , when carried on with discernment , energy , and zeal . We are apt to talk of our Festival results nowadays as disappointing if they do not reach a ceitain standard , and surpass previous records ; but as we speak

glibly of the thousands and tens of thousands of pounds that are cast year by year into the laps of our Masonic Charities , it should be borne in mind that these vast sums were never contemplated by the pioneers of our Institutions ,

and that so large an amount of good has been , and is being , accomplished speaks volumes as to the benevolence of Freemasons , and the herculean efforts they have made to carry out those laudable principles to which they have

" set their hand and seal . Ample and exhaustive " Histories " have been published , setting forth in elaborate detail the progress of our Institutions , but , inasmuch as these may not have been too extensively circulated , and

seeing that many persons have neither the time nor the inclination to wade through hundreds of pages of closelyprinted matter—statistical and otherwise , necessarily

" dry" —it will be our endeavour here to present , in succinct form , a glossary of the chief events which have marked the career of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys .

The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

The Charity was founded in July 1798 , by the Lodge of United Mariners , Ho . 23 on the roll of Grand Lodge tl Ancients , " and in a very short time was so fortunate as to secure for its patron the Duke of Atholl , who was Grand

Master of that body . At the outset , the scheme was limited to the clothing and education of the sons of indigent Freemasons , of whom six only w . ere provided for in the earliest years of the Institution . The funds were

administered by a Committee , and as the efforts of the promoters were successful in augmenting the Annual Subscriptions , more boys were assisted , until we find that in 1810 , the Jubilee year of his late Majesty George III .,

the number had been increased to fifty . These lads , scattered as they were all over the country , being educated in private schools—for there was no permanent Institution then—were seldom seen by the Stewards and others who

took an active interest in their welfare , albeit we are assured that "when the latter held " high festival " at the " Crown and Anchor" in the Strand , or Freemasons ' Tavern , with the object of raising a fresh supply of funds

" the boys , clad in their newest attire of corduroy trousers , jacket , and flat cap—the usual garb of charity—were gathered together and marched into the banquet hall .

They moved round the room in slow procession , to the strains of solemn music , and amid the hearty applause of the admiring guests . And when they had sung a hymn , and two or three of them had received the rewards of